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The Nuclear Deal Hasn't Softened Iran's Hard-Line Policies
(Politico) Dennis Ross - Since the nuclear deal was signed, Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has continued to rail against "American influence" and backs the aggressive use of Hizbullah and other Shiite militias to extend Iran's reach throughout the region. It is Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the IRGC Qods Force, not President Hassan Rouhani, who shapes and implements Iran's policies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, and the granting of $7,000 to every Palestinian "martyr." If we truly want to see the more pragmatic constituency in Iran strengthened over time, we need to raise the costs to Iran for its destabilizing and threatening policies in the region - we need to show that what Solemani is doing around the region is costing Iran and blunting its future development. If Iranians could vote for genuine reform, they would do so; unfortunately, opening up the political system, limiting the power of the mullahs and the Revolutionary Guard, and stopping aggressive and costly support for Shiite militias in the region are never on the ballot. The writer, counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, served in senior positions in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama Administrations.